Rove: Obama Won by 'Suppressing the Vote'

Republican strategist Karl Rove, who is taking heated criticism for his role in the GOP’s presidential and Senate defeats, put the onus on President Barack Obama Friday.

“The president succeeded by suppressing the vote, by saying to people, you might not like who I am and I know you can’t bring yourself to vote for me, but I’m going to paint this other guy as simply a rich guy who only cares about himself,” he told Fox News.

Apparently what Rove means is that the president was able to convince anti-Obama voters to stay on the sidelines by presenting a negative portrayal of Mitt Romney, according to Politico.

Democrats’ response would be that the heavy turnout of minority and young voters, who were crucial to the president’s victory, shows that Obama actually boosted the vote rather than suppressing it.

In any case: "President Obama has become the first president in history to win a second term with a smaller percentage of the vote than he did in the first term," Rove said.

The two Crossroads groups he co-founded raised over $300 million to help propel Romney and Republican congressional candidates to victory.